


Survival

by InyrilJace



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, But not our world, Character Death, Drama, F/M, Gen, Gore, Graphic injuries, Lots of plot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plane Crash AU, Set in a modernised world, Survival Situation, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-24 18:55:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3780697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InyrilJace/pseuds/InyrilJace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A terrible plane crash leaves Eren, Mikasa and Armin stranded on what appears to be an uninhabited island. Together with the other survivors, they strive to find shelter and endure the terrible ordeal. Yet there are many dangers on the island, long undisturbed by humans. And these dangers will not tolerate their territory being invaded.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic for the SNK fandom, hopefully the first of many more. So please let me know what you think. :)
> 
> This fic will contain graphic descriptions of wounds, injuries and some medical procedures. Please be aware of that when reading.

The savage impact shocked through the fuselage, slamming bodies forward and ripping luggage from their compartments. Screams filled the air as metal twisted and crushed while glass shattered all around.

Hot, everything was hot! Dazed and bewildered, Eren slowly lifted his head to stare at the carnage. Heat radiated in his face but all he could do was stare, unaware of his body as his eyes drank it all in. He did not hear the shouts from beside him, only the bloodcurdling screams and broken sobs.

The front half of the plane was utterly destroyed, the cockpit crumpled in like a tin can. Eren was numb as he stared at the blood, the limbs, the mangled bodies that covered everything in a gory display. Flames danced wildly, licking at the mutilated wreckage with a rising hunger. Somewhere, deep inside himself, Eren began to realise that he should be horrified. He should be terrified, panicking and fighting for his life. But he felt nothing.

"… Eren!"

A hand on his shoulder finally jerked him out of his stupor and he turned his head, blinking rapidly as something stung his eyes. Mikasa stared at him, cuts littering her face and fear in her eyes.

"Eren, are you alright? Can you hear me? Eren!"

"I-I'm okay," he stammered and relief flooded her expression. Pain sensors dimly registered a heavy weight on him and Eren looked down, shocked by what he saw. Their row of seats had been slammed forwards. Or perhaps the row in front had been slammed backwards. Either way, their legs were trapped. And the fire was only growing larger.

"We need to get out," Eren said and his heart began to pound furiously. The numb blanket of shock finally lifted off him and adrenaline poured through his veins. "Mikasa, we have to get out of here!"

"Eren, what about Armin? I think … I think he's …"

Eren spun, terror rising in his throat. Why had he not thought of his best friend? Why had he not checked? What was wrong with him? Armin lay slumped against the seat in front, blood slowly emerging from under him.

"Armin!" cried Eren and pulled his friend back without thinking. A groan rose up from the blond and he slowly lifted his head, blinking wearily. Eren felt bile rise in his throat but he held it back. Shards of glass protruded from Armin's face and he longed to reach over, to rip them out and bind up the wounds. No, more than that. He wished he could heal them all instantly. Eren did not want to see his friends broken and bleeding!

"What happened?" groaned Armin weakly.

"It doesn't matter, we have to get out! Quickly, we need to push our seats backwards! We have to get free!"

Eren urged them on, he and Mikasa straining heavily to make some room for themselves. Armin tried but it was clear that his injuries were too severe for him to be of any real help. He slumped, breaths shallow and energy spent. Panic burned in Eren's veins and he dimly heard himself shouting, urging Armin to keep his eyes open. Straining with all his might, he pushed again.

The seats shifted ever so slightly. Mikasa moved, unbuckling the seat belt around her waist and suddenly, she was standing. She had gotten free! Eren stared at her, hope in his eyes. Perhaps they could get out of this after all!

"Eren, quickly!" Mikasa urged. "The fire is getting closer!"

She was right. The heat was sharp on his skin, pulling it taut and making it recoil in apprehension. Eren undid his own belt then reached over to unbuckle Armin's. He wriggled his legs experimentally; there was no pain and he carefully began to extract himself. Pulling himself up onto the seat, Eren allowed himself a brief grin of triumph.

He was free!

A burst of heat slammed into them and the screams rose anew. Mikasa was shaking him, urging him on even as people struggled and screamed and cried and bled all around them. They had to get Armin out! They had to get him to safety! Then they could think about others. But right now, their best friend needed them.

"Armin, come on!" Eren shouted and he turned to the blond, grabbing him under the armpits. "We need to get out of here! You have to fight!"

"I can't. My leg's stuck," came a weak reply, and Eren felt ice wrap around his heart.

"Mikasa, his legs!"

She wriggled her way over the seats, peering down into the crush of metal and rubble before looking up at Eren with a white face.

"What? What is it?" he demanded, his fear rising higher. Mikasa slowly shook her head.

"It won't work. There's some metal … Eren, it's embedded in his leg. We can't pull him free. There's just no room."

"We have to!" Eren let go of Armin, pushing Mikasa out of the way and ducking down to look for himself. The side of the fuselage had ripped open and just as Mikasa had said, a jagged edge was stabbed firmly into Armin's calf. The bile rose again and Eren had to fight harder to swallow it down.

"We have to," Eren repeated to himself as he slowly curled up on himself, bracing against the seats. "We have to get him out!"

A roar tore past his lips as Eren heaved, every muscle in his body straining against the wreckage. A metallic groan rose up, barely noticeable through the rest of the chaos but Eren felt the gap in the seats widen, allowing more access to his best friend's legs.

"Quick, Mikasa!" Eren shouted as he grabbed Armin's legs, mercilessly yanking the wounded one free and drawing a scream of agony from the blond. "Pull him free!"

Mikasa did as she was told, arms locked around Armin as she heaved and dragged. He slid free, blood pouring down his leg and pain twisting his body.

"You have to stop the bleeding!" Mikasa cried as Eren stared at the leg, horrified by the depth of the raw wound. Was that bone he could see? "Eren!"

Something slapped into his face and he grasped at it. A scarf. Mikasa's scarf. He looked up at her, reluctance in his eyes but Mikasa's expression was firm. Armin needed this. They had to. Shoving his reluctance down, Eren wrapped the scarf tightly around the leg, tying it as firmly as he dared. Together, they grasped Armin and lifted him.

Flames reached to them, hungry to consume more. Eren fought back his rising panic as he glanced around wildly, desperate for a way off the plane. There had to be an escape route, there had to be an exit! But there was so much smoke filling the air and Eren was only just aware of how cloying it was, choking his lungs and stealing his breath. His eyes burned and a sob tried to escape his throat.

Was this really it? Was this how he would die?

No, there! The smoke was rushing out of the plane, sucked out by the allure of open air. Eren yelled at Mikasa, urging her towards it and she followed blindly. They scrambled over broken seats and shattered bodies, turning their heads away from the gruesome images and struggling not to trip on the scattered luggage.

Finally, finally, they reached the large hole in the side of the plane and stared out to safety.

It was far too high off the ground.

Eren lowered Armin's legs, turning to face his friends with a heavy heart. They stared back at him, terror on their faces. Why was he stopping? Why was he hesitating before their freedom?

"It's too high," Eren said, voice cracking. "We won't make it."

"Jump!" A voice cut through the air and Eren turned to stare down. There was a figure waving his arms at them, another taller figure beside him. "We'll catch you! Just jump!"

This was madness. Eren's heart thumped wildly in his chest as he stared at the flames racing towards them, before meeting Mikasa's eyes. She gave a small nod.

"Do it, Eren. It's our only chance."

"You're lighter than me. You go first. If everything goes well, I'll send Armin down after you then jump myself," he said and Mikasa hesitated before nodding.

Eren clung to Armin, the two of them watching with bated breaths as Mikasa moved to the edge of the plane. It was fifteen to twenty feet to the ground and even if she survived, she could sustain terrible injuries. Yet what other choice did they have?

Mikasa slowly lowered herself over the edge, until she was dangling by her fingertips. The men below called up encouragements. A deep breath filled her lungs before she let go. Eren could only watch, heart in his throat as she fell through the air. Mikasa kept herself limp, allowing her limbs to curl up as she anticipated the impact.

Strong arms crashed around her, abruptly halting her descend. Grunts of effort rose from the men and then she was on the ground, safe. Eren let out a shout of relief and Mikasa waved up at him.

"Okay, the next one!" called one of the men and Eren looked at Armin.

"You can do this," he said firmly. "Here, I'll lower you over the edge. Okay?"

Armin was shaking terribly but he nodded, allowing Eren to lower him as far as possible. Eren watched for a second time as one of his friends fell weightless through the air. But the two men caught Armin, absorbing the impact and setting him aside for Mikasa to fuss over.

Now it was his turn. Eren knew he could not wait any longer, the heat of the fire was too intense, the flames too close. He had to go, now! So he lowered himself over the edge, letting his fingers stretch as far as they could to try and reduce the distance he had to fall. Then there was nothing left and he was weightless.

The ground rushed towards him and fear clawed at his chest. But then the arms caught him, lowering him slowly and letting him rest on solid earth.

Eren sucked in deep, shaky breaths. They had done it.

"Come on," one of the men said before bending down and scooping Armin up into his arms. "We need to get away from the wreckage! It's not safe here!"

They followed blindly, veins still intoxicated with adrenaline. Eren stared at Armin's leg, seeing the dark blood that still seeped through the scarf. Fear clung to him, refusing to be shaken off and Eren's mind began to race. What if an artery had been cut? Armin would bleed to death! What if they had made it this far, only for his best friend to die now?

A shoulder bumped into his before a cold hand slipped into his own clammy palm. Eren glanced at Mikasa, taking in the terror and exhaustion. She did not say anything, nor offer any form of comfort. She simply clung to him and Eren found himself clinging back, needing the contact more desperately than ever before.

"Here, sit down and keep together. We're safe here. For now."

The man lowered Armin, and Eren and Mikasa instantly took him. Mikasa sat, hugging Armin to her chest while Eren checked his leg.

"How is it?" Armin asked weakly. Eren shrugged helplessly.

"I-I don't know."

"We've got three more over here!" bellowed the man who had carried Armin and they all looked up at his loud voice. "One's got a deep leg wound!"

Others. There were other people here! Eren had not noticed at first but he saw them clearly now. Figures sat or slumped on the ground, in varying degrees of pain. But one form caught his eye above the others, one frantic form working furiously over a limp body.

The man was fierce and relentless, arms strong as his hands shoved down heavily onto the chest of the person beneath him. The pace was devastatingly fast, making Eren wonder how anyone could maintain such a speed. The man abruptly stopped the compressions, bending low to check the person's vital signs. A hesitation. He rose up again, as though about to resume compressions.

But he stopped. Sat back, collapsing to his rear with arms splayed across his knees and head hung in grief. The body lay still before him. Lifeless.

Tears burned in Eren's eyes and he had to look away. It was too much, too terrible and too confronting. Even the most competent among these people were not strong enough. People were dying and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

"Eren." He looked up into Mikasa's eyes, too shell-shocked to hide his fear. "It's alright. We'll be alright."

A sob forced its way out of his throat, leaving a channel for others to follow. His body shuddered and he lifted a hand to rub across his face, hiding his tears for a brief moment. A hand rested on his shoulder and Eren leant into it, seeking solace there.

Mikasa was right; she had to be right! They were together, they were alive and they were going to be okay. They weren't alone here. They could do this. So Eren sniffed back his tears, swallowing down his sobs and regaining his composure. He needed to make sure the bleeding had stopped on Armin's leg, so he bent close, carefully examining the makeshift bandage without untying the knots.

The scarf was stained red but no fresh blood trickled free of it. Relief flooded Eren and he moved back to sit with Mikasa and Armin, leaning against them both. Exhaustion slammed into him with all the force of a tidal wave and he shivered, abruptly aware of the cool air around them. Mikasa wound an arm around him and he accepted the embrace, drawing strength from it.

They had made it this far. And one way or another, he had to believe that they would continue to survive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We will get out of here," Eren said softly as he turned to his friends. "We will make it out of this place alive! All three of us! I swear it to you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more characters introduced and a bit more of the scene is set. I'm hoping for the following chapters to be longer than this because I'm not really a fan of such short chapters. ~~we'll see if that works~~  
>  Also, I'm just going to warn you all now, people are gonna die in this fic. I'm hoping not to kill off any of the main characters but I will definitely be annihilating some of the minor characters here and there. Be warned. 
> 
> This chapter was beta-ed by [probablycats](http://probablycats.tumblr.com/).

"Help! Somebody, help us!"

Eren looked up, sharp eyes quickly locking on to the men running towards them. It was the same two that had caught them when they jumped from the plane, accompanied by a panic-stricken youth with two-toned blond and brown hair. Carried in the arms of the first two men was another youth, limp and unmoving with blood thickly covering the right side of his face.

A short man with dark hair – the man who Eren had witnessed performing CPR – ran over to them, hastily examining the unconscious youth. Eren watched in morbid curiosity until a hiss from his right drew his attention away.

Armin clenched his teeth, face pale as he stared at his leg. A young woman bent over the limb, hands moving deftly as she stitched the deep wound shut. She had arrived a short while ago, introducing herself as Petra and asking about any injuries.

"Almost done, Armin," she said reassuringly. Only a few seconds later she was finished, tying off the stitches and cutting the thread. She moved to bandage it but a voice rose up.

"Petra!" called the short man. "I need you here!"

"I'm almos-"

"Now!"

She sighed and stood up, handing the bandage to Eren.

"Wrap that around the wound. Try to keep it clean. I'll be back later to get the glass out of his face." With that, she grabbed her small bag of medical supplies and ran down to join the short man. Eren ignored the frantic figures as he focused on Armin, carefully bandaging his wounded leg.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and glanced up at his best friend.

"Awful," Armin confessed. "Everything hurts and I want to get out of here. I don't want to be here! Why are we still here? Where are the local authorities? Why hasn't anyone come to help us yet?" Armin was only getting more distressed and Mikasa hushed him, soothing him gently and encouraging him to lie down. Too tired to argue, Armin complied.

Yet those thoughts weighed heavily on Eren's mind as he bandaged the wound. An hour had not yet passed since they jumped from the plane but even so, why had no-one come to help them? Why were they left to fend for themselves? Even the people who offered medical aide were nothing more than survivors, with cuts and bruises worn on their own bodies.

Surely someone had to have seen the plane go down. There had been so much smoke and there was still a thick plume of it, leading off into the sky as the wreckage burned. It was such an obvious beacon; no-one could miss it!

So where were their rescuers?

There was a tight ball of dread knotted in the bottom of Eren's stomach and as he looked up and surveyed the survivors around them, the dread only grew heavier. He wanted to deny it, wanted to fight the knowledge that was so clearly before him. But he was too tired to fight anymore.

No help was coming for them, not from this place. Some deep instinct told him they were alone and Eren believed it. Who knew how far the plane had blown off course in that storm? Far enough that the storm was nothing but a grey smudge on the horizon now. Fear tried to trickle through him but he shoved it aside, opting for determination instead.

"We will get out of here," Eren said softly as he turned to his friends. "We will make it out of this place alive! All three of us! I swear it to you."

* * *

Hours passed. The sun dipped down towards the horizon and the sky turned a burnished red. And still, Petra and the short man worked on the unconscious youth whilst the other youth watched from the side, running stressed hands through his hair and at one point, rushing away to vomit heavily. It was horrific and Eren hated it more and more with each moment.

Finally, when Eren was staring towards the plane wreck and noticing the ground was sandy for the first time, Petra and the short man moved away from the unconscious youth. They spoke softly to each other and Petra motioned towards Armin but the short man shook his head, briefly laying a hand on her arm. Eren watched curiously as Petra nodded and walked away, the short man coming towards them with the small bag of medical supplies.

"I'm Levi," the man said when he reached them. "Who's the patient?"

"I am," Armin replied and slowly sat up, wincing with the movement. Levi knelt beside him and critically examined his face. Turning back to the bag of medical supplies, he riffled through it before returning with some tweezers.

"This is gonna hurt," he said shortly before taking hold of a glass shard and swiftly pulling. Armin gasped and clenched his fists but made no other protest.

Eren hated to see his best friend like this. Even worse was the blood that started to trickle down Armin's face as the glass pieces were removed. He looked away and found himself examining Levi. The short man had a perpetually dark expression with deep bags under his eyes. His exhaustion was palpable and Eren was abruptly aware of his own weariness.

"Are you in charge?" Eren asked, desperate to distract himself from the despair all around.

"No-one's in charge, kid. I'm just a paramedic," Levi answered without taking his eyes off Armin.

"Do you know what's going to happen? I mean, where are we? Why hasn't anyone come for us?"

"We're nowhere. We got blown off-course in that storm, way off-course. It'll be a miracle if anyone knows where we are."

"But shouldn't the people that live here have found us by now?"

"Look around, brat!" Levi snapped and flicked his dark glare onto Eren. "There's no-one here! We were flying over a vast expanse of nothing but water! What we landed on is probably an island that shouldn't exist! If anyone does live here, they don't have the resources to help us. But no-one has come to investigate since we crashed, which means there's no-one here. We're on our own."

"Then we have to get out of here," Eren said, determination rising through him. "We have to do something!"

"Right now we have to sit here and wait!" growled Levi. "Night is falling and everyone here is wounded in some capacity – even you. First we get through the night. In the morning we'll see about doing something."

"But what if we're wasting-"

"Eren, he's right," interrupted Armin. "We have to wait. There's nothing we can do right now. We should build fires and stay close to each other to get through the night. Who knows how cold it could get in this place?"

"Listen to your friend," said Levi and turned back to address the last few pieces of glass in Armin's face. "And you three will be better off if you can find some others to stay close to. There's not many of us but we're all that we've got now. Alright kid, you're done."

"Thank you," Armin said softly.

"Let me check you two over while I'm here," Levi said, glancing between Eren and Mikasa. Eren nodded and sat still as Levi examined him, gently probing at his cuts to see how bad they were.

"What happened to that boy you were working on?" Eren asked abruptly. Levi tensed and shot him a glare before answering.

"He got hit in the face by some debris and his right side was burnt in the fire."

"Is that it? You were working on him for so long."

"Of course that's not it!" Levi snapped. "But it's not really any of your damn business, is it?" He sighed heavily. "If you must know, his right eye was destroyed by the debris. I had to operate to remove the metal and the eye, right there on the ground where you saw me! That's why I needed Petra to help and that's why it took so damn long! Now do you have any more questions or can I finally have some peace and quiet?"

Eren's mouth snapped shut and he could do nothing but stare with wide eyes. Levi quickly finished checking him over and progressed to Mikasa before deeming them both well enough not to require further medical attention. With that, he snatched up the bag of medical supplies and stomped away.

* * *

They found themselves huddled around a campfire less than an hour later, several other young people sitting with them. Introductions had been made and as Eren searched their faces, he saw nothing but the same haunted expressions that were reflected on Armin and Mikasa's faces. Probably his own, too.

"I'm so hungry," mumbled the girl sitting across from them, Sasha. The boy next to her, Connie, slung his arm around her shoulders and she leant against him. No-one else said anything. They were all hungry but Eren knew there was no food. Anxiety twisted his stomach and he forced away the question of how they would feed themselves. That could wait for the morning.

"We were meant to be in Stohess tonight," said Connie as he stared at the flames. "We were going to compete in this international archery competition. Private hotel suites, exclusive passes at the tournament and all that. But now …"

"I lost my bow," Sasha whispered and Connie hugged her closer as tears gathered in her eyes. "I saved for _years_ for that bow!" 

An eerie groan rose into the air and all eyes turned to the youth laid out beside the fire, his right arm and the side of his face heavily bandaged. Eren glanced up at the boy with two-toned hair, Jean, who was staring at the wounded youth with a devastated expression. 

"Who is he?" Eren asked softly. Jean shook his head and slowly met Eren's gaze. 

"I don't even know. I … He saved my life." Jean sighed heavily and  chewed fiercely on his lower lip, as though to try and stop the tremors. " When the plane crashed, I got trapped. All this luggage fell out of the lockers and buried me.  I couldn't get out. But then this guy, he just came out of nowhere! He pulled me out and … and told me to get to safety . That was when the second explosion hit." Jean drew a shuddering breath. "He was closer to the front of the plane and it just … slammed into him.  I heard him screaming but the blast knocked me down too. I was disoriented. When I finally got up, there were seats on him and they were on fire!  I tried to push them off but I couldn't. I-I had to drag him out."

Eren glanced down, taking in the rustic bandages around Jean's palms. Both his hands were shaking but Jean did not seem to notice. 

"I don't know why he did that. I don't understand! He doesn't know me, we've never met before in our lives! But he risked his life for me and that doesn't make any sense." 

"You risked your life for him too," Armin said gently but Jean shook his head. 

"That's different, I had a debt to pay back. He didn't. He didn't have any reason to save me! But he did.  And I don't understand why." 

Jean turned away, focusing on the unconscious youth and pretending to check him over. Recognising that Jean needed a moment to himself, Eren stared into the flames of the fire. 

"What about you three?" asked Connie and Eren looked up in surprise. "What's your story?" 

"We were just travelling," he said with a glance to the others. "Armin's grandfather lives outside Stohess and we were going to stay with him for the summer." 

"I got trapped by the seats," Armin said as he noticed Connie staring at his leg. "Eren and Mikasa managed to get me out but my leg was cut badly." He stared down at the bandages, hints of fear showing on his face. "I hope it doesn't get infected." 

"You'll be fine," Eren said firmly. "We all will." 

"How can you say that?" asked Jean, his voice low and defeated.  "We're stranded in the middle of nowhere, with our only supplies burning to ash on that wreck of a plane! How the hell can you say that we will be fine? This is not fine!" 

"We can't just give up!" Eren shot back. "If we lose hope, of course we'll fail!"

"This is a little bigger than mere positive thinking and determination, idiot!" snapped Jean angrily. "We don't even have proper medicine! If help doesn't come for us in the next couple of days, people will start dying. And they will keep dying until there's none of us left." 

Rage burned through Eren's veins and he clenched his fists, body tensing to fly across the campfire and lay into Jean. 

"Just because you're-" 

"Eren!" Mikasa grasped his arm firmly, meeting his gaze and shaking her head. Eren wanted to fight back, to push her away and rile Jean up further. But she was right. They shouldn't be doing this. Everyone was tired and scared. If he fought Jean now, they would be fighting for no reason other than  wanting to burn off their emotions. And that was not a good enough reason to fight. 

"Fine," he muttered and dropped his gaze. Silence fell over the campfire as the tension awkwardly diffused  itself. 

The fire burned low, letting the shadows creep closer. The strange noises of the surrounding forest began to rise, causing them to jump and flinch over and over again. They were all fighting to stay awake, to ward off the dangers of the night. Yet exhaustion was creeping up steadily, dragging each of them down. Armin was the first to lay down, small shivers stealing across his body as the night air rapidly cooled. 

Eren met Mikasa's gaze and nodded towards Armin. She nodded back and they both lay on either side of their friend, pressing up close against him. Armin opened his eyes and in the briefest moment before he could guard his expression, Eren saw just how much pain his best friend was enduring. So he pressed closer. 

"It's alright, Armin," Eren whispered. "Mikasa and I aren't going to let anything happen to you." 

One by one, the young people gave in to the crushing exhaustion that hung over them all. As the foreign noises echoed in his ears and the ever-present fear seemed more and more overwhelming, Eren  scrunched his eyes shut and prayed for morning to come quickly. 

 


End file.
